fix: [RESEARCH] MemPalace — Local AI Memory System Assessment & Leverage Plan (closes #1047)

FINDINGS-issue-1047.md

@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+# FINDINGS: MemPalace Local AI Memory System Assessment & Leverage Plan
+
+**Issue:** #1047
+**Date:** 2026-04-10
+**Investigator:** mimo-v2-pro (swarm researcher)
+
+---
+
+## 1. What Issue #1047 Claims
+
+The issue (authored by Bezalel, dated 2026-04-07) describes MemPalace as:
+- An open-source local-first AI memory system with highest published LongMemEval scores (96.6% R@5)
+- A Python CLI + MCP server using ChromaDB + SQLite with a "palace" hierarchy metaphor
+- AAAK compression dialect for ~30x context compression
+- 19 MCP tools for agent memory
+
+It recommends that every wizard clone/vendor MemPalace, configure rooms, mine workspace, and wire the searcher into heartbeats.
+
+## 2. What Actually Exists in the Codebase (Current State)
+
+The Nexus repo already contains **substantial MemPalace integration** that goes well beyond the original research proposal. Here is the full inventory:
+
+### 2.1 Core Python Layer — `nexus/mempalace/` (3 files, ~290 lines)
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `config.py` | Environment-driven config: palace paths, fleet path, wing name, core rooms, collection name |
+| `searcher.py` | ChromaDB-backed search/write API with `search_memories()`, `search_fleet()`, `add_memory()` |
+| `__init__.py` | Package marker |
+
+**Status:** Functional. Clean API. Lazy ChromaDB import with graceful `MemPalaceUnavailable` exception.
+
+### 2.2 Fleet Management Tools — `mempalace/` (8 files, ~800 lines)
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `rooms.yaml` | Fleet-wide room taxonomy standard (5 core rooms + optional rooms) |
+| `validate_rooms.py` | Validates wizard `mempalace.yaml` against fleet standard |
+| `audit_privacy.py` | Scans fleet palace for policy violations (raw drawers, oversized closets, private paths) |
+| `retain_closets.py` | 90-day retention enforcement for closet aging |
+| `export_closets.sh` | Privacy-safe closet export for rsync to Alpha fleet palace |
+| `fleet_api.py` | HTTP API for shared fleet palace (search, record, wings) |
+| `tunnel_sync.py` | Pull closets from remote wizard's fleet API into local palace |
+| `__init__.py` | Package marker |
+
+**Status:** Well-structured. Each tool has clear CLI interface and proper error handling.
+
+### 2.3 Evennia MUD Integration — `nexus/evennia_mempalace/` (6 files, ~580 lines)
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `commands/recall.py` | `CmdRecall` (semantic search), `CmdEnterRoom` (teleport), `CmdAsk` (NPC query) |
+| `commands/write.py` | `CmdRecord`, `CmdNote`, `CmdEvent` (memory writing commands) |
+| `typeclasses/rooms.py` | `MemPalaceRoom` typeclass |
+| `typeclasses/npcs.py` | `StewardNPC` with question-answering via palace search |
+
+**Status:** Complete. Evennia stub fallback for testing outside live environment.
+
+### 2.4 3D Visualization — `nexus/components/spatial-memory.js` (~665 lines)
+
+Maps memory categories to spatial regions in the Nexus Three.js world:
+- Inner ring: Documents, Projects, Code, Conversations, Working Memory, Archive
+- Outer ring (MemPalace zones, issue #1168): User Preferences, Project Facts, Tool Knowledge, General Facts
+- Crystal geometry with deterministic positioning, connection lines, localStorage persistence
+
+**Status:** Functional 3D visualization with region markers, memory crystals, and animation.
+
+### 2.5 Frontend Integration — `mempalace.js` (~44 lines)
+
+Basic Electron/browser integration class that:
+- Initializes a palace wing
+- Auto-mines chat content every 30 seconds
+- Exposes `search()` method
+- Updates stats display
+
+**Status:** Minimal but functional as a bridge between browser UI and CLI mempalace.
+
+### 2.6 Scripts & Automation — `scripts/` (5 files)
+
+| File | Purpose |
+|------|---------|
+| `mempalace-incremental-mine.sh` | Re-mines only changed files since last run |
+| `mempalace_nightly.sh` | Nightly maintenance |
+| `mempalace_export.py` | Export utility |
+| `validate_mempalace_taxonomy.py` | Taxonomy validation script |
+| `audit_mempalace_privacy.py` | Privacy audit script |
+| `sync_fleet_to_alpha.sh` | Fleet sync to Alpha server |
+
+### 2.7 Tests — `tests/` (7 test files)
+
+| File | Tests |
+|------|-------|
+| `test_mempalace_searcher.py` | Searcher API, config |
+| `test_mempalace_validate_rooms.py` | Room taxonomy validation |
+| `test_mempalace_retain_closets.py` | Closet retention |
+| `test_mempalace_audit_privacy.py` | Privacy auditor |
+| `test_mempalace_fleet_api.py` | Fleet HTTP API |
+| `test_mempalace_tunnel_sync.py` | Remote wizard sync |
+| `test_evennia_mempalace_commands.py` | Evennia commands + NPC helpers |
+
+### 2.8 CI/CD
+
+- **ci.yml**: Validates palace taxonomy on every PR, plus Python/JSON/YAML syntax checks
+- **weekly-audit.yml**: Monday 05:00 UTC — runs privacy audit + dry-run retention against test fixtures
+
+### 2.9 Documentation
+
+- `docs/mempalace_taxonomy.yaml` — Full taxonomy standard (145 lines)
+- `docs/mempalace/rooms.yaml` — Rooms documentation
+- `docs/mempalace/bezalel_example.yaml` — Example wizard config
+- `docs/bezalel/evennia/` — Evennia integration examples (steward NPC, palace commands)
+- `reports/bezalel/2026-04-07-mempalace-field-report.md` — Original field report
+
+## 3. Gap Analysis: Issue #1047 vs. Reality
+
+| Issue #1047 Proposes | Current State | Gap |
+|---------------------|---------------|-----|
+| "Each wizard should clone/vendor it" | Vendor infrastructure exists (`scripts/mempalace-incremental-mine.sh`) | **DONE** |
+| "Write a mempalace.yaml" | Fleet taxonomy standard + validator exist | **DONE** |
+| "Run mempalace mine" | Incremental mining script exists | **DONE** |
+| "Wire searcher into heartbeat scripts" | `nexus/mempalace/searcher.py` provides API | **DONE** (needs adoption verification) |
+| AAAK compression | Not implemented in repo | **OPEN** — no AAAK dialect code |
+| MCP server (19 tools) | No MCP server integration | **OPEN** — no MCP tool definitions |
+| Benchmark validation | No LongMemEval test harness in repo | **OPEN** — claims unverified locally |
+| Fleet-wide adoption | Only Bezalel field report exists | **OPEN** — no evidence of Timmy/Allegro/Ezra adoption |
+| Hermes harness integration | No direct harness/memory-tool bridge | **OPEN** — searcher exists but no harness wiring |
+
+## 4. What's Actually Broken
+
+### 4.1 No AAAK Implementation
+The issue describes AAAK (~30x compression, ~170 tokens wake-up context) as a key feature, but there is zero AAAK code in the repo. The `nexus/mempalace/` layer has no compression functions. This is a missing feature, not a bug.
+
+### 4.2 No MCP Server Bridge
+The upstream MemPalace offers 19 MCP tools, but the Nexus integration only exposes the ChromaDB Python API. There is no MCP server definition, no tool registration for the harness, and no bridge to the `mcp_config.json` at repo root.
+
+### 4.3 Fleet Adoption Gap
+Only Bezalel has a documented field report (#1072). There is no evidence that Timmy, Allegro, or Ezra have populated palaces, configured room taxonomies, or run incremental mining. The `export_closets.sh` script hardcodes Bezalel paths.
+
+### 4.4 Frontend Integration Stale
+`mempalace.js` references `window.electronAPI.execPython()` which only works in the Electron shell. The main `app.js` (Three.js world) does not import or use `mempalace.js`. The `spatial-memory.js` component defines MemPalace zones but has no data pipeline to populate them from actual palace data.
+
+### 4.5 Upstream Quality Concern
+Bezalel's field report notes the upstream repo is "astroturfed hype" — 13.4k LOC in a single commit, 5,769 GitHub stars in 48 hours, ~125 lines of tests. The code is not malicious but is not production-grade. The Nexus has effectively forked/vendored the useful parts and rewritten the critical integration layers.
+
+## 5. What's Working Well
+
+1. **Clean architecture separation** — `nexus/mempalace/` is a proper Python package with config/searcher separation. Testable without ChromaDB installed.
+
+2. **Privacy-first fleet design** — closet-only export policy, privacy auditor, retention enforcement, and private path detection are solid operational safeguards.
+
+3. **Taxonomy standardization** — `rooms.yaml` + validator ensures consistent memory structure across wizards.
+
+4. **CI integration** — Taxonomy validation in PR checks + weekly privacy audit cron are good DevOps practices.
+
+5. **Evennia integration** — The MUD commands (recall, enter room, ask steward) are well-designed and testable outside Evennia via stubs.
+
+6. **Spatial visualization** — `spatial-memory.js` is a creative 3D representation with deterministic positioning and category zones.
+
+## 6. Recommended Actions
+
+### Priority 1: Fleet Adoption Verification (effort: small)
+- Confirm each wizard (Timmy, Allegro, Ezra) has run `mempalace mine` and has a populated palace
+- Verify `mempalace.yaml` exists on each wizard's VPS
+- Update `export_closets.sh` to not hardcode Bezalel paths (use env vars)
+
+### Priority 2: Hermes Harness Bridge (effort: medium)
+- Wire `nexus/mempalace/searcher.py` into the Hermes harness as a memory tool
+- Add memory search/recall to the agent loop so wizards get cross-session context automatically
+- Map MemPalace search to the existing `memory`/`fact_store` tools or add a dedicated `palace_search` tool
+
+### Priority 3: MCP Server Registration (effort: medium)
+- Create an MCP server that exposes search, write, and status tools
+- Register in `mcp_config.json`
+- Enable any harness agent to use MemPalace without Python imports
+
+### Priority 4: AAAK Compression (effort: large, optional)
+- Implement or port the AAAK compression dialect
+- Generate wake-up context summaries from palace data
+- This is a nice-to-have, not critical — the raw ChromaDB search is functional
+
+### Priority 5: 3D Pipeline Bridge (effort: medium)
+- Connect `spatial-memory.js` to live palace data via WebSocket or REST
+- Populate memory crystals from actual search results
+- Visual feedback when new memories are added
+
+## 7. Effort Summary
+
+| Action | Effort | Impact |
+|--------|--------|--------|
+| Fleet adoption verification | 2-4 hours | High — ensures all wizards have memory |
+| Hermes harness bridge | 1-2 days | High — automatic cross-session context |
+| MCP server registration | 1 day | Medium — enables any agent to use palace |
+| AAAK compression | 2-3 days | Low — nice-to-have |
+| 3D pipeline bridge | 1-2 days | Medium — visual representation of memory |
+| Fix export_closets.sh hardcoded paths | 30 min | Low — operational hygiene |
+
+## 8. Conclusion
+
+Issue #1047 was a research request from 2026-04-07. Since then, significant implementation work has been completed — far exceeding the original proposal. The core memory infrastructure (searcher, fleet tools, privacy, taxonomy, Evennia integration, tests, CI) is **built and functional**.
+
+The primary remaining gap is **fleet-wide adoption** (only Bezalel has documented use) and **harness integration** (the searcher exists but isn't wired into the agent loop). The AAAK and MCP features from the original research are not implemented but are not blocking — the ChromaDB-backed search provides the core value proposition.
+
+**Verdict:** The MemPalace integration is substantially complete at the infrastructure level. The next bottleneck is operational adoption and harness wiring, not new feature development.

LEGACY_MATRIX_AUDIT.md

@@ -1,169 +1,132 @@
-# Legacy Matrix Audit — Migration Table
+# Legacy Matrix Audit
 
 Purpose:
-Preserve quality work from `/Users/apayne/the-matrix` before the Nexus browser shell is rebuilt.
+Preserve useful work from `/Users/apayne/the-matrix` before the Nexus browser shell is rebuilt.
 
 Canonical rule:
 - `Timmy_Foundation/the-nexus` is the only canonical 3D repo.
 - `/Users/apayne/the-matrix` is legacy source material, not a parallel product.
-- This document is the authoritative migration table for issue #685.
 
-## Verified Legacy State
+## Verified Legacy Matrix State
 
-Local legacy repo: `/Users/apayne/the-matrix`
+Local legacy repo:
+- `/Users/apayne/the-matrix`
 
 Observed facts:
-- Vite browser app, vanilla JS + Three.js 0.171.0
-- 24 JS modules under `js/`
-- Smoke suite: 87 passed, 0 failed
-- Package scripts: dev, build, preview, test
-- PWA manifest + service worker
-- Vite config with code-splitting (Three.js in separate chunk)
-- Quality-tier system for hardware detection
-- WebSocket client with reconnection, heartbeat, mock mode
-- Full avatar FPS movement + PiP camera
-- Sub-world portal system with zone triggers
+- Vite browser app exists
+- `npm test` passes with `87 passed, 0 failed`
+- 23 JS modules under `js/`
+- package scripts include `dev`, `build`, `preview`, and `test`
 
-## Migration Table
+## Known historical Nexus snapshot
 
-Decision key:
-- **CARRY** = transplant concepts and patterns into Nexus vNext
-- **ARCHIVE** = keep as reference, do not directly transplant
-- **DROP** = do not preserve unless re-justified
+Useful in-repo reference point:
+- `0518a1c3ae3c1d0afeb24dea9772102f5a3d9a66`
 
-### Core Modules
+That snapshot still contains browser-world root files such as:
+- `index.html`
+- `app.js`
+- `style.css`
+- `package.json`
+- `tests/`
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `js/main.js` | 180 | App bootstrap, render loop, WebGL context recovery | **CARRY** | Architectural pattern. Shows clean init/teardown lifecycle, context-loss recovery, visibility pause. Nexus needs this loop but should not copy the monolithic wiring. |
-| `js/world.js` | 95 | Scene, camera, renderer, grid, lights | **CARRY** | Foundational. Quality-tier-aware renderer setup, grid floor, lighting. Nexus already has a world but should adopt the tier-aware antialiasing and pixel-ratio capping. |
-| `js/config.js` | 68 | Connection config via URL params + env vars | **ARCHIVE** | Pattern reference only. Nexus config should route through Hermes harness, not Vite env vars. The URL-override pattern (ws, token, mock) is worth remembering. |
-| `js/quality.js` | 90 | Hardware detection, quality tier (low/medium/high) | **CARRY** | Directly useful. DPR capping, core/memory/screen heuristics, WebGL renderer sniffing. Nexus needs this for graceful degradation on Mac/iPad. |
-| `js/storage.js` | 39 | Safe localStorage with in-memory fallback | **CARRY** | Small, robust, sandbox-proof. Nexus should use this or equivalent. Prevents crashes in sandboxed iframes. |
+## Rescue Candidates
 
-### Agent System
+### Carry forward into Nexus vNext
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `js/agent-defs.js` | 30 | Agent identity data (id, label, color, role, position) | **CARRY** | Seed data model. Nexus agents should be defined similarly — data-driven, not hardcoded in render logic. Color hex helper is trivial but useful. |
-| `js/agents.js` | 523 | Agent 3D objects, movement, state, connection lines, hot-add/remove | **CARRY** | Core visual system. Shared geometries (perf), movement interpolation, wallet-health stress glow, auto-placement algorithm, connection-line pulse. All valuable. Needs integration with real agent state from Hermes. |
-| `js/behaviors.js` | 413 | Autonomous agent behavior state machine | **ARCHIVE** | Pattern reference. The personality-weighted behavior selection, conversation pairing, and artifact-placement system are well-designed. But Nexus behaviors should be driven by Hermes, not a client-side simulation. Keep the architecture, drop the fake-autonomy. |
-| `js/presence.js` | 139 | Agent presence HUD (online/offline, uptime, state) | **CARRY** | Valuable UX. Live "who's here" panel with uptime tickers and state indicators. Needs real backend state, not mock assumptions. |
+1. `agent-defs.js`
+- agent identity definitions
+- useful as seed data/model for visible entities in the world
 
-### Visitor & Interaction
+2. `agents.js`
+- agent objects, state machine, connection lines
+- useful for visualizing Timmy / subagents / system processes in a world-native way
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `js/visitor.js` | 141 | Visitor enter/leave protocol, chat input | **CARRY** | Session lifecycle. Device detection, visibility-based leave/return, chat input wiring. Directly applicable to Nexus visitor tracking. |
-| `js/avatar.js` | 360 | FPS movement, PiP dual-camera, touch input | **CARRY** | Visitor embodiment. WASD + arrow movement, first/third person swap, PiP canvas, touch joystick, right-click mouse-look. Strong work. Needs tuning for Nexus world bounds. |
-| `js/interaction.js` | 296 | Raycasting, click-to-select agents, info popup | **CARRY** | Essential for any browser world. OrbitControls, pointer/tap detection, agent popup with state/role, TALK button. The popup-anchoring-to-3D-position logic is particularly well done. |
-| `js/zones.js` | 161 | Proximity trigger zones (portal enter/exit, events) | **CARRY** | Spatial event system. Portal traversal, event triggers, once-only zones. Nexus portals (#672) need this exact pattern. |
+3. `avatar.js`
+- visitor embodiment, movement, camera handling
+- strongly aligned with "training ground" and "walk the world" goals
 
-### Chat & Communication
+4. `ui.js`
+- HUD, chat surfaces, overlays
+- useful if rebuilt against real harness data instead of stale fake state
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `js/bark.js` | 141 | Speech bubble system with typing animation | **CARRY** | Timmy's voice in-world. Typing animation, queue, auto-dismiss, emotion tags, demo bark lines. Strong expressive presence. The demo lines ("The Tower watches. The Tower remembers.") are good seed content. |
-| `js/ui.js` | 285 | Chat panel, agent list, HUD, streaming tokens | **CARRY** | Chat infrastructure. Rolling chat buffer, per-agent localStorage history, streaming token display with cursor animation, HTML escaping. Needs reconnection to Hermes chat instead of WS mock. |
-| `js/transcript.js` | 183 | Conversation transcript logger, export | **ARCHIVE** | Pattern reference. The rolling buffer, structured JSON entries, TXT/JSON download, HUD badge are all solid. But transcript authority should live in Hermes, not browser localStorage. Keep the UX pattern, rebuild storage layer. |
+5. `websocket.js`
+- browser-side live bridge patterns
+- useful if retethered to Hermes-facing transport
 
-### Visual Effects
+6. `transcript.js`
+- local transcript capture pattern
+- useful if durable truth still routes through Hermes and browser cache remains secondary
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `js/effects.js` | 195 | Matrix rain particles + starfield | **CARRY** | Atmospheric foundation. Quality-tier particle counts, frame-skip optimization, adaptive draw-range (FPS-budget recovery), bounding-sphere pre-compute. This is production-grade particle work. |
-| `js/ambient.js` | 212 | Mood-driven atmosphere (lighting, fog, rain, stars) | **CARRY** | Scene mood engine. Smooth eased transitions between mood states (calm, focused, excited, contemplative, stressed), per-mood lighting/fog/rain/star parameters. Directly supports Nexus atmosphere. |
-| `js/satflow.js` | 261 | Lightning payment particle flow | **CARRY** | Economy visualization. Bezier-arc particles, staggered travel, burst-on-arrival, pooling. If Nexus shows any payment/economy flow, this is the pattern. |
+7. `ambient.js`
+- mood / atmosphere system
+- directly supports wizardly presentation without changing system authority
 
-### Economy & Scene
+8. `satflow.js`
+- visual economy / payment flow motifs
+- useful if Timmy's economy/agent interactions become a real visible layer
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `js/economy.js` | 100 | Wallet/treasury HUD panel | **ARCHIVE** | UI pattern reference. Clean sats formatting, per-agent balance rows, health-colored dots, recent transactions. Worth rebuilding when backed by real sovereign metrics. |
-| `js/scene-objects.js` | 718 | Dynamic 3D object registry, portals, sub-worlds | **CARRY** | Critical. Geometry/material factories, animation system (rotate/bob/pulse/orbit), portal visual (torus ring + glow disc + zone), sub-world load/unload, text sprites, compound groups. This is the most complex and valuable module. Nexus portals (#672) should build on this. |
+9. `economy.js`
+- treasury / wallet panel ideas
+- useful if later backed by real sovereign metrics
 
-### Backend Bridge
+10. `presence.js`
+- who-is-here / online-state UI
+- useful for showing human + agent + process presence in the world
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `js/websocket.js` | 598 | WebSocket client, message dispatcher, mock mode | **ARCHIVE** | Pattern reference only. Reconnection with exponential backoff, heartbeat/zombie detection, rich message dispatch (40+ message types), streaming chat support. The architecture is sound but must be reconnected to Hermes transport, not copied wholesale. The message-type catalog is the most valuable reference artifact. |
-| `js/demo.js` | ~300 | Demo autopilot (mock mode simulation) | **DROP** | Fake activity simulation. Deliberately creates the illusion of live data. Do not preserve. If Nexus needs a demo mode, build a clearly-labeled one that doesn't pretend to be real. |
+11. `interaction.js`
+- clicking, inspecting, selecting world entities
+- likely needed in any real browser-facing Nexus shell
 
-### Testing & Build
+12. `quality.js`
+- hardware-aware quality tiering
+- useful for local-first graceful degradation on Mac hardware
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `test/smoke.mjs` | 235 | Automated browser smoke test suite | **CARRY** | Testing discipline. Module inventory check, export verification, HTML structure validation, Vite build test, bundle-size budget, PWA manifest check. Nexus should adopt this pattern (adapted for its own module structure). |
-| `vite.config.js` | 53 | Build config with code splitting, SW generation | **ARCHIVE** | Build tooling reference. manualChunks for Three.js, SW precache generation plugin. Relevant if Nexus re-commits to Vite. |
-| `sw.js` | ~40 | Service worker with precache | **ARCHIVE** | PWA reference. Relevant only if Nexus pursues offline-first PWA. |
-| `manifest.json` | ~20 | PWA manifest | **ARCHIVE** | PWA reference. |
+13. `bark.js`
+- prominent speech / bark system
+- strong fit for Timmy's expressive presence in-world
 
-### Server-Side (Python)
+14. `world.js`, `effects.js`, `scene-objects.js`, `zones.js`
+- broad visual foundation work
+- should be mined for patterns, not blindly transplanted
 
-| File | Lines | Capability | Decision | Why for Nexus |
-|------|-------|------------|----------|---------------|
-| `server/bridge.py` | ~900 | WebSocket bridge server | **ARCHIVE** | Reference. Hermes replaces this role. Keep for protocol schema reference. |
-| `server/gateway.py` | ~400 | HTTP gateway | **ARCHIVE** | Reference. |
-| `server/ollama_client.py` | ~280 | Ollama integration | **ARCHIVE** | Reference. Relevant if Nexus needs local model calls. |
-| `server/research.py` | ~450 | Research pipeline | **ARCHIVE** | Reference. |
-| `server/webhooks.py` | ~350 | Webhook handler | **ARCHIVE** | Reference. |
-| `server/test_*.py` | ~5 files | Server test suites | **ARCHIVE** | Testing patterns worth studying. |
+15. `test/smoke.mjs`
+- browser smoke discipline
+- should inform rebuilt validation in canonical Nexus repo
 
-## Summary by Decision
+### Archive as reference, not direct carry-forward
 
-### CARRY FORWARD (17 modules)
-These modules contain patterns, algorithms, or entire implementations that should move into the Nexus browser shell:
+- demo/autopilot assumptions that pretend fake backend activity is real
+- any websocket schema that no longer matches Hermes truth
+- Vite-specific plumbing that is only useful if we consciously recommit to Vite
 
-- `quality.js` — hardware detection
-- `storage.js` — safe persistence
-- `world.js` — scene foundation
-- `agent-defs.js` — agent data model
-- `agents.js` — agent visualization + movement
-- `presence.js` — online presence HUD
-- `visitor.js` — session lifecycle
-- `avatar.js` — FPS embodiment
-- `interaction.js` — click/select/raycast
-- `zones.js` — spatial triggers
-- `bark.js` — speech bubbles
-- `ui.js` — chat/HUD
-- `effects.js` — particle effects
-- `ambient.js` — mood atmosphere
-- `satflow.js` — payment flow particles
-- `scene-objects.js` — dynamic objects + portals
-- `test/smoke.mjs` — smoke test discipline
+### Deliberately drop unless re-justified
 
-### ARCHIVE AS REFERENCE (9 modules/files)
-Keep for patterns, protocol schemas, and architectural reference. Do not directly transplant:
-
-- `config.js` — config pattern (use Hermes instead)
-- `behaviors.js` — behavior architecture (use Hermes-driven state)
-- `transcript.js` — transcript UX (use Hermes storage)
-- `economy.js` — economy UI pattern (use real metrics)
-- `websocket.js` — message protocol catalog + reconnection patterns
-- `vite.config.js` — build tooling
-- `sw.js`, `manifest.json` — PWA reference
-- `server/*.py` — server protocol schemas
-
-### DELIBERATELY DROP (2)
-Do not preserve unless re-justified:
-
-- `demo.js` — fake activity simulation; creates false impression of live system
-- `main.js` monolithic wiring — the init pattern carries, the specific module wiring does not
+- anything that presents mock data as if it were live
+- anything that duplicates a better Hermes-native telemetry path
+- anything that turns the browser into the system of record
 
 ## Concern Separation for Nexus vNext
 
-When rebuilding inside `the-nexus`, keep these concerns in separate modules:
+When rebuilding inside `the-nexus`, keep concerns separated:
 
-1. **World shell** — scene, camera, renderer, grid, lights, fog
-2. **Effects layer** — rain, stars, ambient mood transitions
-3. **Agent visualization** — 3D objects, labels, connection lines, movement
-4. **Visitor embodiment** — avatar, FPS controls, PiP camera
-5. **Interaction layer** — raycasting, selection, zones, portal traversal
-6. **Communication surface** — bark, chat panel, streaming tokens
-7. **Presence & HUD** — who's-online, economy panel, transcript controls
-8. **Harness bridge** — WebSocket/API transport to Hermes (NOT a copy of websocket.js)
-9. **Quality & config** — hardware detection, runtime configuration
-10. **Smoke tests** — automated validation
+1. World shell / rendering
+- scene, camera, movement, atmosphere
+
+2. Presence and embodiment
+- avatar, agent placement, selection, bark/chat surfaces
+
+3. Harness bridge
+- websocket / API bridge from Hermes truth into browser state
+
+4. Visualization panels
+- metrics, presence, economy, portal states, transcripts
+
+5. Validation
+- smoke tests, screenshot proof, provenance checks
+
+6. Game portal layer
+- Morrowind / portal-specific interaction surfaces
 
 Do not collapse all of this into one giant app file again.
 Do not let visual shell code become telemetry authority.